On September 15 – 17, 1999 an International Symposium was held at FORTH/ICE-HT to honor Professor George Papatheodorou, on the occasion of his 60^th birthday, for his contribution to the scientific and academic community. More than 100 scientists from about 20 countries, friends, and public servants including the Mayor of the City of Patras, Mr. E. Floratos, and the NATO SfP Project Director Dr. Chris DeWispelaere, were gathered to honor his profound accomplishments in High Temperature Chemistry.

Participation of 110 scientists from 20 different countries. An honorary volume of the proceedings was printed by the Institute (ISBN: 960-7839-01-3).

George Papatheodorou was one of the pioneers who paved the road for the foundation of ICE-HT, serving also as its First Director for 15 years, and he contributed to the formation of FORTH. He also served as General Secretary of Research and Technology (1988-89), and First Chairman of the Department of Chemical Engineering (1982-84). He was and still is an active member of executive and scientific boards and committees including, among others, the NATO Science Committee, in which he is the Greek representative, the Scientific Council of “National Hellenic Research Foundation”, and the Board of Directors of “Patras Science Park”.